“I’d like to liken this to a pivotal moment in AI development, akin to the Newton moment,” Yin remarked.
Chinese smartphone manufacturers, from Meizu to Oppo, are ramping up the integration of AI into their devices.
360 Security Technology’s chairman and CEO, Zhou Hongyi, expressed on the microblogging platform Weibo that the gap between China and the US in AI advancement could widen further if OpenAI is engaged in developing undisclosed “secret weapons”.
Zhou approximated that China’s top large language models (LLMs), the technology behind AI tools like ChatGPT, have almost reached the level of GPT-3.5, but there remains a 1.5-year lag behind GPT-4. OpenAI introduced GPT-4, its text generation model, in March 2023.
Some Chinese entrepreneurs are cautious not to exaggerate Sora’s capabilities.
Fang Han, CEO of game developer and publisher Kunlun Tech, remarked in an interview with government-run Shang Securities News, “Based on the demonstration videos by Sora, it has not made significant strides in comprehending the world.”
He further added, “The disparity between Sora and China’s domestically developed text-to-video tools is not as pronounced as in the LLM sector.”
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The news of Sora’s emergence seems to have been received positively by domestic investors. The Sora Index, comprising 49 technology, entertainment, and media firms listed in Shanghai and Shenzhen that could be influenced by the AI model compiled by financial information provider Wind, surged by 11.4 percent on Monday, the first trading day after the Lunar New Year holiday.
There is perceived opportunity in generative AI advancement. Ping An Securities stated in a report released on Monday that the rapidly expanding LLM and generative AI sector “will drive significant growth in computing power in China and globally.” The financial institution also noted that sectors such as computing power, algorithms, and cybersecurity will all reap benefits.
Nevertheless, Ping An cautioned about potential “supply chain risks” if the US continues to limit chip exports to China. While the sanctions “could hasten the development of the domestic AI chip industry,” the report mentioned that “locally produced alternatives might not meet expectations.”
BGI’s Yin also raised doubts about whether China has adequate time to catch up, considering “the challenging backdrop of decoupling and disruptions in the supply chain.”
Washington has hindered Chinese firms from accessing cutting-edge semiconductor tools by escalating restrictions on the export of products utilizing US-origin technology. In October, the US further tightened these restrictions, obstructing the mainland’s access to graphics processing units (GPUs) specifically tailored by Nvidia for Chinese customers in response to prior constraints.
Consequently, the US chip behemoth has introduced three new data center GPUs – the H20, L20, and L2. Nonetheless, US Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo cautioned that Washington would disapprove of any circumvention strategies aimed at the mainland.
